Re: Upgrading Firmware on Thompson DCM475

I do hope to visit Toronto for a few days in a week or two. And if/when I go, I will bring one of my flashing rigs along for the ride.

This opens up a couple of possibilities..

1. If somebody there wants to organize/host a 2-3 hour get together, with others who need their modems reflashed, then we could all meet up and get the job done then.

and/or

2. I could leave a flashing rig behind with someone at cost ($30-$40), who might then provide the service to others, or do whatever / however they want really.

Ideally, this would happen in an area away from where Teddy Boom (downtown) already provides this kind of help. Somewhere (just) North of the 401 might be ideal, to help people in North York, Scarberia, etc..

But I'm not organizing it. Somebody who needs help should volunteer to get things rolling. Think of it as a Christmas Charity activity or something.

2. I could leave a flashing rig behind with someone at cost ($30-$40), who might then provide the service to others, or do whatever / however they want really.

For a long time I didn't think so, but recent evidence suggests that firmware upgrades to SB612x are just as important as upgrades for DCM475. If you could set it up so that swapping the flash card would allow you to upgrade different modems, and include a flash card for each of the SB612x and DCM475, that would be ideal. I can get you a donor SB612x if you want...--electronicsguru.ca

If you could set it up so that swapping the flash card would allow you to upgrade different modems, and include a flash card for each of the SB612x and DCM475, that would be ideal. I can get you a donor SB612x if you want...

Yup, could do that. I forget, does the SB612x also use SPI flash? If so, then I'll make it so both images can just be on the same card. The rig can auto-detect the kind of modem it is attached to, and choose the correct file based on that. Easy.

A donor SB612x would be good. If you can arrange one, I'll drop by and pick it up some time before Christmas. Should be able to make the programming changes while I'm there (Toronto), too.

Ya, for sure SPI flash. It is an 8MB chip though. The biggest concern is that you have to over wright both firmware images, because on the Motorola there is no dependable way of predicting which image will be booted.

Peachy. My current automatic rig for the DCM475 flashes both images regardless now too. Also does readback/compare to ensure reliable flashing.

Well, that's an entirely different issue, which might become an issue for us... The SB6120 pulls about .5A through the 3.3V supply, and there are sometimes issues getting the flash to ID properly... Basically, a lot more read/write issues on the SB6120. Nothing that causes bricks for me, but sometimes a lot of hassles.

Last chance for Toronto folks.. I'll be visiting for a couple of days soon, and nobody has gotten back to me asking for modem updates. If nothing gets arranged, I may not bother making the flashing rig available.

SB6120/SB6121 Firmware

SB6121 on the ripping rig

Courtesy of Teddy Boom, I now have a SB6121 modem to experiment on. Here's the logic board hooked up to my flash-ripping rig. With a bit of luck, this will all be ready to use in a day or so, for anyone who needs their SB6120/SB6121 modems updated to the latest firmware for Teksavvy.

Hey guys, I was kind of curious if there was a difference between SB612X-1.0.5.0-SCM03-NOSH and the newer 1.0.6.1. I've been on this firmware for a while but I've been continuously getting random restarts which last for a couple minutes. Not sure if it's due to firmware or not?

Hey guys, I was kind of curious if there was a difference between SB612X-1.0.5.0-SCM03-NOSH and the newer 1.0.6.1. I've been on this firmware for a while but I've been continuously getting random restarts which last for a couple minutes. Not sure if it's due to firmware or not?

Hey guys, I was kind of curious if there was a difference between SB612X-1.0.5.0-SCM03-NOSH and the newer 1.0.6.1. I've been on this firmware for a while but I've been continuously getting random restarts which last for a couple minutes. Not sure if it's due to firmware or not?

It may or may not be related to firmware. It is important to do basic debugging first. Do you have good signal, being the most important. Also worth taking it to another address just to see what you get there.

The firmware update can't hurt, but it isn't the source of all problems, not a panacea --electronicsguru.ca

After the ios upgrade on the UBR in May of 2011 all 1.0.5.0's started flapping. You will need at minimum 1.0.6.0 but 1.0.6.1 is what Rogers has pushed out which resolves the channel bonding issue "caused" by the May 2011 ubr update.

Everyone will be pleased to know this same update is what caused your SMC D3GN's and pretty much all puma5 based modems to have disconnects. tada! You all know who to thank for that.